A community action plan is in the works to ensure that Powell River stays welcoming and inclusive for all.
Powell River Diversity Initiative (PRDI) hosted an open forum on the subject last month which provided an opportunity to reflect on how welcoming Powell River is and what improvements could be made.
Lyn Adamson is executive director of Powell River Employment Program (PREP) Society, an umbrella organization which provides community programs including ones which help newcomers.
A number of incidents over the past six months, including racist graffiti and posters as well as a general increase in fear about Chinese immigration, pushed Adamson to set the forum up, she said in her opening remarks.
“We are a welcoming, friendly and safe community,” Adamson said. “Our challenge today is to see if what we are is good enough.”
Organizers counted at least 62 people at the forum, though it is possible more attended that day, she added.
Cliff Cheung, a newcomer to Powell River and a forum participant, stood up to say how impressed he was with the community’s response. He recently retired from a career with Canada Post and he and his wife were looking to move out of Vancouver.
“This reconfirmed that my wife and I retired to the right city,” he said. “We fell in love with not only the scenery, but also the people.”
He said he was actually grateful for the person who put the posters up because it brought the issue of latent racism to the surface and gave Powell River reason to talk openly about it.
“He did not cause much damage, but he did bring more awareness to what is happening,” said Cheung.
Adamson pointed out a number of communities in the province and country that faced similar situations and are moving forward with community discussions and plans to ensure communities stay welcoming for not only Canadians but also immigrants and refugees.
“We had a good discussion and anytime the community is discussing diversity with an open mind in a non-judgmental atmosphere I think that’s excellent work,” she said in an interview after the event.
Adamson admitted, though, that the people in attendance at the forum were those who wish to see Powell River as a welcoming and diverse community. “Our challenge is to reach out to those people who don’t hold those views and see how we can include them in this discussion,” she added.
Drafting an action plan based on community feedback is the next step which will be worked on over the year, said Adamson.
She is also looking forward to working with City of Powell River Council to have the action plan adopted by the city, similar to one drafted in Lethbridge, Alberta, she said.
She is particularly pleased with the creation of council’s new social portfolios in development and services, portfolios which she said acknowledge the importance of looking out for a community’s social health, not just its transportation system and economic development. Councillor Rob Southcott has the social development portfolio while Councillor Maggie Hathaway is in charge of social services.
Adamson is inspired by communities, like Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, which have committed to solving complex social problems, like homelessness or racism, she added.
“I believe we have an opportunity for Powell River,” she said. “Our core values, and we can see them just walking down the street, are inclusiveness and reaching out to each other. Our diversity issue is something that the community, at its heart, is prepared to address and work together on.”
